On January 18, 2011, the United States Supreme Court denied the writ of certiorari for an appeal of orders granting certification in a class action involving the sale of windows sold by Pella Window and Doors, Inc., a subsidiary of Pella Corporation (collectively “Pella”). See Pella v. Saltzman, __ S. Ct. __, 2011 WL 134286, 79 USLW 3149 (U.S. Jan. 18, 2011) (No. 10-355).

The order let stand the Seventh Circuit’s opinion approving the district court’s certification of broad issue classes of claimants pursuing warranty coverage related to the sale of consumer goods. See Pella Corp. v. Saltzman, 606 F.3d 391 (7th Cir. 2010). Underscoring the significance of the issues involved in this appeal, the writ petition was supported by amicus curaie briefs filed by many representatives of the product liability defense bar, including the Defense Research Institute and the Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc, as well as the National Association of Home Builders, Window and Door Manufacturers, the National Association of Manufacturers and the United States Chamber of Commerce. The Pella case liberalizes the standard for certifying a class in consumer warranty cases and will be used by plaintiffs’ counsel to argue effectively for class certification in many different types of consumer warranty class claims.